CITI OPEN: PREVIEW & DAY 1 MEDIA NOTES Monday, August 3, 2015
William H.G. FitzGerald Tennis Center, Washington D.C., USA | August 3 – 9, 2015 Draw: S-48, D-16 | Prize Money: $1,753,020| Surface: Outdoor Hard
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CITI OPEN TALKING POINTS
Citi Open (Washington): The only ATP World Tour 500 level tournament in the U.S. features nine of the Top 20 in the Emirates ATP Rankings. There are two former champions in the field: Alexandr Dolgopolov (2012) and former World No. 1 Lleyton Hewitt (2004). The Top 8 seeds in the tournament are: No. 1 Andy Murray, No. 2 Kei Nishikori, No. 3 Marin Cilic, No. 4 Richard Gasquet, No. 5 Kevin Anderson, No. 6 Grigor Dimitrov, No. 7 Feliciano Lopez and No. 8 John Isner, who is coming off his 10th career ATP World Tour title in Atlanta. There are seven former finalists in the field: Vasek Pospisil (2014), Isner (2013, ‘07), Tommy Haas (2012), Marcos Baghdatis (2010), Viktor Troicki (2008), Murray (2006) and Gilles Muller (2004).
Day 1: The Citi Open opens with 9 singles matches and two doubles on Monday’s schedule. The first men’s match on Stadium Court is a first time meeting between Aussie James Duckworth and American qualifier Ryan Harrison. Following is a first time meeting between teen-agers Yoshihito Nishioka of Japan and Alexander Zverev of Germany. In the third match on Stadium Court American Donald Young won his only previous meeting with the wild card Tommy Haas in straight sets in the first round at 2008 Los Angeles. Young is trying to break an eight-match 1R losing skid.
Murray Returns…As Top Seed: World No. 3 Murray is making his second appearance in Washington, first since 2006 when he came in ranked No. 35 and reached the final (l. to Clement). The 28-year-old Brit is playing in his first tournament since reaching the semi-finals at Wimbledon (l. to Federer). The following weekend he helped his country to a 3-1 Davis Cup quarter-final victory over France by accounting for all three wins (two singles, one doubles).Great Britain will appear in the semi-finals for the first time in 34 years, hosting Australia in September. Murray is coming off a 12-1 grass court campaign. In addition to his SF at Wimbledon, he won his fourth Queen’s Club title. On clay, he turned in his best clay court results with a 15-1 record, winning titles in Munich and ATP Masters 1000 Madrid and reaching the SFs at Roland Garros. Overall, Murray has compiled a 48-7 match record and captured three ATP World Tour titles.
Hewitt Makes Final Appearance: Lleyton Hewitt, who captured the 2004 title (d. Muller), is one of two former champions in the draw along with Alexandr Dolgopolov (2012). The 34-year-old Aussie has a 10-6 career record in Washington. He was the hero in Australia’s 3-2 Davis Cup quarter-final victory over Kazakhstan, winning the doubles match (w/Groth) and then capturing the fifth and decisive match in singles over Aleksandr Nedovyesov. Hewitt plans to retire after next year’s Australian Open.
US Open Finalists in Field: With US Open champion Marin Cilic and finalist Kei Nishikori in the field, it’s the first time in tournament history that both of the previous year’s US Open finalists are in the Washington draw. Cilic is playing in his first tournament since reaching the quarter-finals at Wimbledon for the second straight year (l. to eventual champ Djokovic again). Cilic is also the first reigning US Open champion to play in Washington since Andre Agassi in 2000. Nishikori is also returning to action for the first time since Wimbledon where he withdrew from the 2R due to a calf injury. Nishikori is 4-4 in Washington, reaching the QFs last year. He is ranked No. 5 with a 38-9 record this season with repeat titles in Memphis and Barcelona. He also was runner-up in Acapulco (l. to Ferrer). Citi Open Day 1 – Monday, August 3, 2015 Page 2 of 7 www.ATPWorldTour.com
Ivo Leads Aces List: Nine of the Top 10 aces leaders on the ATP World Tour are in the draw (except defending champ Milos Raonic), led by Ivo Karlovic, who is approaching 1,000 aces for the season. Here is a look at the Top 10 aces leaders:
1) Ivo Karlovic 951 6) Sam Groth 483 2) John Isner 761 7) Feliciano Lopez 474 3) Kevin Anderson 632 8) Viktor Troicki 461 4) Milos Raonic 567 9) Sam Querrey 454 5) Gilles Muller 524 10) Bernard Tomic 411
Grigor Eyes JumpStart: No. 6 seed Grigor Dimitrov comes in with a 22-13 record on the season and his best results are the SFs in Brisbane and Istanbul. The 24-year-old Bulgarian is playing in his first event since the 3R at Wimbledon (l. to Gasquet). This is Dimitrov’s third visit to Washington and two years ago he reached the QF. A year ago at this time he compiled a 35-10 record and was coming off a SF at Wimbledon. He just broke into the Top 10. He also was a three-time winner on the ATP World Tour. Dimitrov split with coach Roger Rasheed after Wimbledon.
Tommy is Back: The oldest player in the singles draw is 37-year-old wild card Tommy Haas, who is making his ninth tournament appearance (18-8 record). Haas has never lost in his opening match in Washington. In his last appearance two years ago he advanced to the SFs. Haas was runner-up in ’12 (l. to Dolgopolov). He came back in June in Stuttgart after undergoing right shoulder surgery on June 17, 2014. Haas has a 2-4 record on grass, reaching 2R in Stuttgart and Wimbledon. This is the German’s first hard court event since October 2013 at ATP Masters 1000 Paris. His last hard court match win came in the final of Vienna on Oct. 20, ‘13 (d. Haase).
Outstanding Doubles Field: Top seeds and three-time champions (2005-07) Bob and Mike Bryan lead a strong doubles draw. Nine of the Top 12 in the Emirates ATP Doubles Team Rankings are in the 16-team field (see below). The Bryans are making their 13th Washington appearance (26-9 record). They also were finalists in 2001-02. They have a 4-1 record in finals this season and an overall record 107 titles together. Their four titles this season came in Delray Beach, ATP Masters 1000 Miami, Monte-Carlo and Atlanta on Sunday. They were also finalists at Roland Garros. Here is a look at the Top 12 teams entered as of Aug. 3:
2) Bob Bryan-Mike Bryan (d. Fleming / Muller in Atlanta Final) 3) Ivan Dodig-Marcelo Melo 5) Jamie Murray-John Peers (d. Cabal / Farah in Hamburg Final) 6) Rohan Bopanna-Florin Mergea 7) Marcin Matkowski-Nenad Zimonjic 8) Vasek Pospisil-Jack Sock 10) Alexander Peya-Bruno Soares 11) Pablo Cuevas-David Marrero 12) Juan Sebastian Cabal-Robert Farah (l. to Murray / Peers in Hamburg Final)
FORMER WASHINGTON CHAMPIONS AND FINALISTS (Since 2004):
YEAR WINNER FINALIST 2014 Milos Raonic Vasek Pospisil 2013 Juan Martin del Potro John Isner 2012 Alexandr Dolgopolov Tommy Haas 2011 Radek Stepanek Gael Monfils 2010 David Nalbandian Marcos Baghdatis Citi Open Day 1 – Monday, August 3, 2015 Page 3 of 7 www.ATPWorldTour.com
2009 Juan Martin del Potro Andy Roddick Bold = Denotes those in this year’s draw 2008 Juan Martin del Potro Viktor Troicki 2007 Andy Roddick John Isner
2006 Arnaud Clement Andy Murray
2005 Andy Roddick James Blake 2004 Lleyton Hewitt Gilles Muller
FORMER WASHINGTON DOUBLES CHAMPIONS (Since 2004):
YEAR WINNER YEAR WINNER 2014 Jean-Julien Roger & Horia Tecau 2008 Marc Gicquel & Robert Lindstedt 2013 Julien Benneteau & Nenad Zimonjic 2007 Bob Bryan & Mike Bryan 2012 Treat Huey & Dominic Inglot 2006 Bob Bryan & Mike Bryan 2011 Michael Llodra & Nenad Zimonjic 2005 Bob Bryan & Mike Bryan 2010 Mardy Fish & Mark Knowles 2004 Chris Haggard & Robbie Koenig 2009 Martin Damm & Robert Lindstedt
SEEDS TO WATCH THIS WEEK
SINGLES:
SEED PLAYER RECORD BEST FINISH
1. Andy Murray (GBR) 4-1 RUP 2006 2. Kei Nishikori (JPN) 4-4 QF 2014 3. Marin Cilic (CRO) 3-2 SF 2010 4. Richard Gasquet (FRA) 3-2 SF 2014 5. Kevin Anderson (RSA) 7-4 QF 2012-14 6. Grigor Dimitrov (BUL) 4-2 QF 2013 7. Feliciano Lopez (ESP) 1-3 R16 2006 8. John Isner (USA) 19-7 RUP 2007, ‘13 9. Viktor Troicki (SRB) 7-4 RUP 2008 10. Ivo Karlovic (CRO) 9-5 SF 2007 11. Bernard Tomic (AUS) 2-2 R16 2013 12. Vasek Pospisil (CAN) 4-1 RUP 2014 13. Sam Querrey (USA) 6-6 SF 2012 14. Pablo Cuevas (URU) DEBUT -- 15. Jack Sock (USA) 2-2 R32 2013-14 16. Leonardo Mayer (ARG) 1-3 R16 2012
QUALIFIERS (6): WILDCARDS (4): OLDEST: Ryan Harrison (USA) Tommy Haas (GER) Tommy Haas – 37 yrs, 4 months Darian King (BAR) Lleyton Hewitt (AUS) Marinko Matosevic (AUS) Nicolas Jarry (CHI) YOUNGEST: Yoshihito Nishioka (JPN) Denis Kudla (USA) Alexander Zverev – 18 yrs, 3 months Guido Pella (ARG) John-Patrick Smith (AUS) Citi Open Day 1 – Monday, August 3, 2015 Page 4 of 7 www.ATPWorldTour.com
TOP COUNTRY BREAKDOWN: United States (8), Australia (6), Germany (3), Japan (3), Argentina (2) Countries in total: 30
DOUBLES:
SEED PLAYER BEST FINISH 1. Bob Bryan & Mike Bryan 26-9; W 2005-07 2. Ivan Dodig & Marcelo Melo 1-2; QF 2014 3. Rohan Bopanna & Florin Mergea TEAM DEBUT 4. Marcin Matkowski & Nenad Zimonjic TEAM DEBUT
WHAT’S AT STAKE?
EMIRATES ATP RANKINGS POINTS AND PRIZE MONEY
W F SF QF R16 R32 R48 SINGLES RANKING POINTS 500 300 180 90 45 20 0 SINGLES PRIZE MONEY ($) 343,000 154,620 73,240 35,340 18,020 9,910 5,770 DOUBLES RANKING POINTS 500 300 180 90 0 — — DOUBLES PRIZE MONEY ($) 101,310 45,710 21,550 10,420 5,350 — —
MONDAY FEDEX ATP HEAD 2 HEADS – In Order of Play by Court Stadium Court
James Duckworth (AUS) vs (Q) Ryan Harrison (USA) First Meeting
Duckworth FastFacts: 2015 Highlights: QF(2): Brisbane (l Federer); Nice (l Coric) YTD W-L: 8-7 YTD Titles: 0 / Career Titles: 0 Date of Birth: January 21, 1992 Emirates ATP Ranking: 95 Washington W-L (Best Result-Year): 1-2 (2R 2013)
The 23-year-old Aussie is playing here for the third straight year. Best result was 2R in 2013 (l. to Anderson) in his tournament debut. Has a 1-2 tournament record Playing his first match since reaching the 2R at Wimbledon (l. to Groth) Reached QF at Brisbane (l. to Federer) and Nice (l. to Coric) In Grand Slam play (2-3 record), reached 2R at Australian Open (l. to Gasquet) and Wimbledon (l. to Coric), fell in 1R at Roland Garros (l. to Amaboldi in 5-sets) Has 74-55 career record in Challengers (12-7 in 2015) with two titles in five finals
Harrison FastFacts: 2015 Highlights: SF: Acapulco (l Ferrer) YTD W-L: 5-6 YTD Titles: 0 / Career Titles: 0 Date of Birth: May 7, 1992 Emirates ATP Ranking: 129 Washington W-L (Best Result-Year): 2-2 (2R 2011, ’13) Citi Open Day 1 – Monday, August 3, 2015 Page 5 of 7 www.ATPWorldTour.com
The 23-year-old American qualifier is playing here for the third time. On both previous appearances he reached the 2R – 2011 (l. to Troicki) and 2013 (l. to eventual champion del Potro). Has a 2-2 tournament record Best result of the year was reaching his 7th career ATP World Tour SF at Acapulco (d. Dimitrov in 2R, d. Karlovic in QF, l. to eventual champion Ferrer) as a qualifier…dropped to 0-7 in SF matches Also reached 3R as a qualifier at Memphis (l. to Nishikori) Has played primarily Challengers this year (12-7 record), highlighted by capturing his third career Challenger title at Happy Valley, Australia (d. Baghdatis) Failed to qualify at Australian Open (l. to Odesnik in Q1) and Wimbledon (l. to Andreozzi in Q1)
(Q) Yoshihito Nishioka (JPN) vs Alexander Zverev (GER) First Meeting
Nishioka FastFacts: 2015 Highlights: QF: Delray Beach (l Tomic) YTD W-L: 2-2 YTD Titles: 0 / Career Titles: 0 Date of Birth: September 27, 1995 Emirates ATP Ranking: 136 Washington W-L (Best Result-Year): 1-1 (2R 2014)
The 19-year-old left-handed qualifier from Japan is making his tournament debut Reached his first career ATP World Tour QF at Delray Beach (l. to Tomic) In Grand Slam play (0-1), fell in 1R as a qualifier at Roland Garros (l. to Berdych), fell in qualifying at Australian Open (l. to Bhambri in Q2) and Wimbledon (l. to Donati in Q2) Reached three Challenger SFs at Hong Kong Challenger (l. to Edmund) in January, Heilbronn (l. to Pella) in May and Granby (l. to Bester) two-weeks ago. Has a career 35-27 (15-10 in 2015) match record in Challengers (1-0 in finals) and 64-22 in Futures (5-4 in finals)
Zverev FastFacts: 2015 Highlights: SF: Bastad (l Robredo) YTD W-L: 10-11 YTD Titles: 0 / Career Titles: 0 Date of Birth: April 20, 1997 Emirates ATP Ranking: 96 Washington W-L (Best Result-Year): Debut
The 18-year-old German is making his tournament debut and youngest in the draw Two-weeks ago reached his second career ATP World Tour SF at Bastad (l. to Robredo). He was attempting to become first teenager to reach Bastad final since ‘05 when Nadal beat Berdych (both were 19). The last teenager to win an ATP World Tour title was Marin Cilic in New Haven in ‘08. Afterwards went from No. 123 to No. 98. Reached career-high No. 74 on June 29 Previous best result this year as 3R at Nottingham (l. to Baghdatis) In Grand Slam play (1-1 record), reached 2R at Wimbledon at (l. to Kudla), fell in qualifying at Australian Open (l. to Smith in Q1) and Roland Garros (l. to Sijsling in Q2)
Teenagers (4) in Top 100 Emirates ATP Rankings – Zverev is the youngest in the Top 100 Player Rank Age Alexander Zverev, GER 96 18 Years, 3 Months Borna Coric, CRO 33 18 Years, 8 Months Hyeon Chung, KOR 77 19 Years, 2 Months Thanasi Kokkinakis, AUS 72 19 Years 3 Months Citi Open Day 1 – Monday, August 3, 2015 Page 6 of 7 www.ATPWorldTour.com
Donald Young (USA) vs (WC) Tommy Haas (GER) Young Leads 1-0 08 Los Angeles (U.S.A.) Hard R32 Donald Young 6-2 6-4
Young FastFacts: 2015 Highlights: F: Delray Beach (l Karlovic); SF: Memphis (l Anderson); QF: Auckland (l Vesely) YTD W-L: 14-16 YTD Titles: 0 / Career Titles: 0 Date of Birth: July 23, 1989 Emirates ATP Ranking: 75 Washington W-L (Best Result-Year): 9-4 (SF 2011, ’14)
The 26-year-old left-handed American is a two-time semi-finalist and fell to the eventual champion on both occasions. He reached the SFs in 2011 (l. to Stepanek) and 2014 (l. to Raonic), he is playing here for the fifth time and has a 9-4 tournament record Has reached the QF or better three times this year. Highlighted by reaching his second career ATP World Tour final at Delray Beach (l. to Karlovic) and first since 2011 Bangkok (l. to Murray) Also reached SF at Memphis (l. to Anderson) and QF at Auckland (l. to Vesely) Retired in 1R at Acapulco vs Harrison due to left elbow injury at 2-4 in third set, also retired in 1R at ATP Masters 1000 Madrid vs Dimitrov due to lower back pain at 46 03 In Grand Slam play (1-3 record), reached 2R at Australian Open (l. to Raonic), fell in 1R at Roland Garros (l. to Giraldo) and Wimbledon (l. to Baghdatis) In doubles reached first career ATP World Tour doubles final at Memphis w/Sitak (l. to Fyrstenberg / Gonzalez 10-8 in Match TB)
Haas FastFacts: 2015 Highlights: YTD W-L: 2-4 YTD Titles: 0 / Career Titles: 15 Date of Birth: April 3, 1978 Emirates ATP Ranking: 523 Washington W-L (Best Result-Year): 18-8 (RUP 2012)
The 37-year-old German wild card is making his ninth tournament appearance (18-8 record). Haas has never lost in his opening match in Washington. In his last appearance two years ago he advanced to the SFs. He was was runner-up in 2012 (l. to Dolgopolov). In June returned to action at Stuttgart and reached 2R (l. to Tomic) along with Wimbledon (l. to Raonic). Has a 2-4 record on grass. Lost in 1R in Halle (l. to Seppi) and Newport (l. to Mannarino). This is the German’s first hard court event since October 2013 at ATP Masters 1000 Paris. His last hard court match win came in the final of Vienna on Oct. 20, 2013 (d. Haase) In 2014 Finished outside Top 50 for first time since 2011 after an injury-hit year. Retired 4 times during season due to shoulder injury. On June 17, underwent arthroscopic surgery on right shoulder in New York and was out for rest of season. Season highlighted by a 28th career final in Zagreb (l. to Cilic)…dropped to 15-13 in finals Reached career-high singles ranking of No. 2 on May 13, 2002
Grandstand 1
Dudi Sela (ISR) vs Hyeon Chung (KOR) First Meeting
Citi Open Day 1 – Monday, August 3, 2015 Page 7 of 7 www.ATPWorldTour.com
Grandstand 2
Victor Estrella Burgos (DOM) vs (WC) Nicolas Jarry (CHI) First ATP Meeting Other meetings: 14 Pereira CH (Colombia) Clay R32 Victor Estrella Burgos 6-4 7-6(5) 14 Cali II CH (Colombia) Clay QF Victor Estrella Burgos 7-6(6) 6-3
(Q) Marinko Matosevic (AUS) vs Ruben Bemelmans (BEL) Matosevic Leads 1-0 12 ATP Masters 1000 Indian Wells (U.S.A.) Hard R128 Marinko Matosevic 6-2 6-3 Other meetings; 09 US Open Q (U.S.A.) Hard -- Ruben Bemelmans 6-3 ret 11 Nottingham CH (Great Britain) Grass R16 Marinko Matosevic 6-4 6-4 12 Athens CH (Greece) Hard F Marinko Matosevic 6-3 6-4
Court 1
Teymuraz Gabashvili (RUS) vs Benjamin Becker (GER) Becker Leads 1-0 07 Halle (Germany) Grass R32 Benjamin Becker 6-4 7-6(1) Other meetings: 13 Ortisei CH (Italy) Hard QF Teymuraz Gabashvili 6-4 6-1
Court 2
(Q) Darian King (BAR) vs Go Soeda (JPN) First Meeting
Ricardas Berankis (LTU) vs Yen-Hsun Lu (TPE) First ATP Meeting Other meetings: 08 Sunrise Q (U.S.A.) Hard -- Yen-Hsun Lu 6-3 7-5 13 ATP Masters 1000 Canada Q (Canada) Hard -- Yen-Hsun Lu 6-1 6-2
OTHER FIRST ROUND FEDEX ATP HEAD 2 HEADS – In Draw Order
Malek Jaziri (TUN) vs Gilles Muller (LUX) First Meeting
Lukas Lacko (SVK) vs Steve Johnson (USA) Johnson Leads 2-0 15 Wimbledon (Great Britain) Grass R128 Steve Johnson 6-3 6-7(5) 4-6 6-1 6-4 15 Atlanta (U.S.A.) Hard R32 Steve Johnson 6-1 6-7(3) 6-2
(Q) Guido Pella (ARG) vs Marcos Baghdatis (CYP) First Meeting
Alexandr Dolgopolov (UKR) vs Tim Smyczek (USA) Dolgopolov Leads 2-0 14 ATP Masters 1000 Indian Wells (U.S.A.) Hard R64 Alexandr Dolgopolov 7-6(3) 6-4 15 Delray Beach (U.S.A.) Hard R16 Alexandr Dolgopolov 6-2 6-4
(Q) John-Patrick Smith (AUS) vs (AUS) Lleyton Hewitt (AUS) First Meeting
Sam Groth (AUS) vs Thomaz Bellucci (BRA) First Meeting
(WC) Denis Kudla (USA) vs Blaz Rola (SLO) First Meeting